Friends for the moment, Gophers head coach Tim Brewster, left, and Minnesota Athletic Director Joe Maturi walk off the field together after the Gophers beat Miami University 41-35 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minn., on Saturday, September 8, 2007. (Ben Garvin, Pioneer Press)

If Gophers football coach Tim Brewster were to leave Minnesota before the end of his five-year contract, he would owe the university the remainder of his $400,000-per-season base salary.

If Tubby Smith were to leave his job as Gophers men’s basketball coach after this season, his payback to Minnesota would be $2 million.

Both insist they aren’t headed anywhere and that they love their Minnesota jobs.

But success gets readily noticed. When you coach a football team from 1-11 your first season to 7-2 your second season, you get noticed. By the way, there is a coaching vacancy at the University of Tennessee.

In men’s college basketball, the Arizona coaching job has become available. Smith is a proven winner and is rebuilding nicely at Minnesota. But his name has been mentioned in Tucson.

Gophers athletics director Joel Maturi plans to consider Brewster’s employment status at the end of the season.

“We’ll do what’s right for the University of Minnesota, and we’ll do what’s right for Tim Brewster,” Maturi said Wednesday.

Regarding Smith, 57, Maturi said, “I hear his name mentioned for every job that opens, and if I’m an external person, I would, too, because he’s a heck of a coach. But what people don’t realize, I believe, is that Tubby is real happy here and excited about his future here. And I think Tim Brewster feels the same way.”

I asked Maturi if he gets nervous when his coaches get mentioned for other jobs.

“I think it’s a great problem, and I hope you take that the right way,” he said. “Every time a job opens up now, and including Arizona with Tubby Smith’s name … I hope that every job that opens up in college football, Tim Brewster’s name comes up, because that means he’s succeeding.

“I don’t want to lose Tim Brewster; I think he’s happy here, and we’re obviously happy with him. The fact of the matter is that if it’s just about money, then Tennessee, or something, he may go there. I don’t know what (coach Nick) Saban’s making, $5 million-plus at Alabama? I don’t know what Tennessee’s willing to pay, but I’m sure it’s a little more than we’re able to pay.

“If it’s about money, then those things are going to happen. But there’s a lot more than money, I think, with somebody like Tim Brewster, and I’m confident that he’ll continue to be our football coach.

“But I can’t knee-jerk react every time one of these things happens.”

Brewster, 48, who said he does not have a roaming eye and that he intends to remain at Minnesota for a long time, is in the second year of a five-year contract worth $1 million annually. If the Gophers, who have Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa remaining to play this season, finish strong, it’s expected that Brewster will be offered an extension.

What if Tennessee were to offer Brewster $3 million a year?

“I couldn’t pay him $3 million if I wanted to,” Maturi said. “I told coach Brewster that we’ll sit down at the end of the season. I think he’s comfortable with that, and I’m comfortable with that.”

Smith, who has five seasons after the current season remaining on a deal worth approximately $1.8 million annually, said things couldn’t be better at Minnesota.

“We had a blueprint coming in, and the plan is falling into place,” he said.

Smith said he’s even more excited now than when he accepted the Gophers job 18 months ago.

“Absolutely,” he said. “To some degree, this (job) has been better than I expected.”

Smith, who said he has turned down a handful of NBA jobs as well as college jobs, emphasized he’s not going anywhere. He’s uncomfortable even talking about it.

“It’s kind of crazy to be even talking about something like that,” he said. “We’re very happy to be here.”

As a member of the World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies, catcher Chris Coste, a former Concordia (Moorhead) star, will get to meet the president when his team visits the White House. It’s uncertain, though, whether that president will be George W. Bush or Barack Obama, who takes over Jan. 20.

Former Green Bay Packer Darren Sharper admits he has more incentive to beat the Packers, who play the Vikings on Sunday in the Metrodome, now that he’s a Viking.

“When you’re playing the team that brought you into the league, that drafted you,” he said, “I prepare hard every week, but I think against Green Bay there’s a little bit of extra motivation. We want to beat these guys, especially for the fact of where we are in our season. This game should put us, if we beat them, in first place. And it’s a home game; we need to win those.”

As part of their “Solid Gold” fan attire promotion for Saturday’s football game against Michigan in the Metrodome, look for Gophers players to wear gold uniform pants with maroon jerseys.

Gophers officials expect attendance of about 55,000 Saturday and are hoping for a 64,000-sellout for the regular-season finale against Iowa on Nov. 22 in the Dome.

OVERHEARD

Vikings coach Brad Childress, asked if he could measure the falloff if pass rusher Jared Allen (seven sacks) can’t play Sunday against the Packers because of his separated shoulder: “I don’t know; that’s a little deep.”

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